JIHAD WATCH.org (UPI.com, by Shaun Waterman, June 4, 2007): "FBI WARNS ON AL-QAEDA'S ENGLISH MESSAGES" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The FBI says al-Qaida is issuing video messages in English to get Muslim extremists in the United States to carry out terror attacks. Speaking on C-SPAN Television, FBI Director of Public Affairs John Miller said al-Qaida leaders have stepped up the tempo of their public messages in an effort to inspire others to compensate for their network's reduced ability directly to execute attacks.") (June 4, 2007)
JAMESTOWN.org - TERRORISM FOCUS: "AL-QAEDA'S AMERICAN RECRUIT RELEASES SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW" by Michael Scheuer (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Indeed, al-Qaeda has taken the passion of the North Vietnamese to inform and warn a step further by recruiting a U.S. citizen to serve as an English-speaking, Islamist mentor for the American audience.") (June 5, 2007)
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373447
TERRORISM FOCUS
June 5, 2007
“Diyala Residents Confront al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq”
By Lydia Khalil
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “There is evidence that al-Qaeda is being squeezed out of Baghdad by the troop surge and has already been driven out of its traditional stronghold in Anbar province. In response, Al-Qaeda in Iraq has attempted to make Diyala province their new headquarters. Diyala has always been an active area for al-Qaeda, and they have set up training camps in the adjacent Hamrin Mountains and are attempting to turn the province into an Islamic principality under their command. They have forbidden the sale of cigarettes, forced the niqab upon women and closed internet cafes (al-Sabah, April 10). Residents report that al-Qaeda elements have set up false checkpoints to kidnap men and have broken into residential houses at night. One sheikh said, “They take the men to orchards and farms…where they train them on how to fight and how to plant explosives. Those who don’t obey their commands are killed” (al-Hayat, April 4).
According to reports from Diyala’s residents, al-Qaeda is forcing families to marry their daughters to its members and requiring their sons to fight on their behalf. They have raided schools and killed teachers in front of their students (al-Mada, May 15). In fact, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), of which al-Qaeda is a part, has killed and displaced hundreds of civilians who have not cooperated with their demands. They have threatened tribal leaders and tried to prohibit anyone from cooperating with the Iraqi government. These strong-arm tactics have caused a mass exodus of Diyala residents, compounding Iraq’s internal refugee problem. The Iraqi Red Crescent Society reported that, in one week alone, 700 households abandoned their homes in Diyala (al-Sharqiyah TV, May 12).
Nevertheless, some Diyala residents are fighting back.”
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